1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle wheel arch comprising an electrical circuit and an assembly comprising a wheel arch and power supply means. More precisely, the invention relates to a motor vehicle wheel arch comprising an electrical circuit fully contained within a 3 mm proximity of the wheel arch. A proximity of 3 mm to the wheel arch is used to designate the volume defined by all the points situated at most 3 mm from the wheel arch.
2. Description of Related Art
The tendency is for motor vehicle manufacturers to equip the wheels or tires of vehicles with components having the function of providing information concerning the tires to a vehicle computer. Possible components include, for example, pressure sensors, temperature sensors or tire identification devices.
To this end, each wheel arch of a vehicle is provided with an electrically conductive circuit, designated hereinafter as an “electrical circuit”, forming an antenna, connected by electrical cables to the computer and/or to a source of electrical power, while the component is itself also provided with an antenna.
The antenna of the wheel arch is generally molded fully into the wheel arch or adhesively bonded to the surface thereof during manufacture of the wheel arch. During the stage of mounting the wheel arch on the motor vehicle, the antenna is then connected to an electrical power supply of the vehicle by means of electrical connections.
Thus, at the time of incorporation of the antenna into the wheel arch, it is necessary to provide connections to the antenna and leading to the outside of the wheel arch. These connections are often complicated to produce during molding of the wheel arch and are subject to particularly marked fatigue due to the vibrations suffered by the wheel arch during normal use of the vehicle. Furthermore, these connections may cause premature corrosion of the antenna, which is in direct contact with the outside air by means of these connections.